Classes Begin Tomorrow!

11am tomorrow begins my ingression into the world of the languages of Indonesian and Arabic. While I find my gi-normous Arabic text to be slightly intimidating, I have no fears that I'll be able to hold my own in Indonesian by the time I return to Thailand. If anyone shows interest in learning along side me, perhaps I will offer weekly lessons? Perhaps if no one shows interest, I may still offer weekly lessons? We shall see my faithful reader(s), we shall see.

I spent most of the last two days roaming around the city with some friends here. I saw Constantine and I enjoyed it. Last Thursday I went to my Japanese club again at this nice little place called Robot Sushi I met a lady who works at the Japanese consulate here and she told me they have a rather nice culture center with a free library with plenty of good Japanese stuff. I plan to head there this week.

I wrote an email tonight to the manager of the international house. I mentioned that half of the machines in the gym are broken, there are pool balls missing from the table and I offered some very inexpensive improvements. I've looked over the IH's web site under facilities and found it claiming a number of things we don't have. As long as they respond nicely to my pleasant request for repairs and minor inexpensive upgrades, I won't go crazy. Otherwise I may have to champion another attempt at mutiny. I kind of like getting people riled up over such things.

Pop's birthday was on the 26th. I sent her a stuffed kangaroo and I called her yesterday.

I've somehow managed to develop what seems to be a smokers cough. This is rather distressing as I haven't smoked in nearly 5 years. The air is much cleaner here than in Chiang Mai and I've done my best to avoid second-hand smoke, but I've been coughing up a rather scary amount of crap in the past few days. I sometimes double over from the force of it. It doesn't cause as much pain as it did back when I quit smoking, but if it continues I may run into some serious problems. I exercise daily and eat very healthily and I quit smoking long ago, but I have a sinking suspicion that I will die fairly young because my lungs are shot to hell already. Bollocks indeed.

I've been in a number of pictures lately, but nobody has given me them yet. I'll get ahold of them eventually and post them. Also, I think its about time I started thinking about backing up my blog. I've written quite a bit and I'd hate to lose it.

On another frustrating note, my laptop is having big internet problems again. This makes my language studies considerably more difficult as this computer sucks.

Thats all for today team! See you after class or something.

Mystery Bus Tour

So tonight was the Mystery Bus Tour hosted by Deakin during O-week (orientation). We all paid $7 to wait for a long friggin time to be loaded onto buses that took us to 4 different (mostly shitty) bar/pub/nightclub-type places. I went with Jada (Singapore), Anthony and Ayu (both Malay). The first place was filthy. The second place sucked. The third was filthy and sucky. The last place was almost fun I think, but it was too crowded. We had exactly one hour in each place before the buses would return and ship us to the next crappy spot. The real shitty part was that while there were 10-12 buses that took us out, only 4 came back to bring us home. They told us 1am, but we got there at 12:45 and the last bus was leaving. A whole mess of people had to get a cab home. Luckily a 10-person maxi-cab drove by and I found enough people to fill it in a few moments. Could have been worse I guess. We took a bunch of pictures tonight and after I get them I will post a couple as long as I look good. Should work out alright ;-).

I bought a couple books today. Arabic, Indonesian and the music class. The music books look ridiculously easy for me. The Indonesian stuff looks fine also. The Arabic is a bit intimidating, but it will be fine I'm sure. No word on the Chinese book.

Where do babies come from?

Andrew's brother Stephen and his girlfriend Tiffany just had a baby girl! Ryan Madison Hart was born 2/17 12:42PM weighing in at a very fit 6 lbs 14oz. Here they are in their slightly exhausted glory.

Beach Party and School Clubs

So its O-Week at school. Monday was pretty boring. They gave out lots of junk. The food wasn't to appealing. I joined the Taekwondo club as well as Duff, the beer club. Hopefully,the pain of one will help cancel the other out.

There was a beach party at night and it was decent I guess. I've met a couple more international people, but I've yet to meet an Australian. I can't say it matters really. I certainly will next week.

My books will be rather expensive. $18 for 3 Indonesian, $101 for Arabic, $95 for music class books/software and Chinese has yet to post required books. It could be over $300! Argh. Must work soon!

I went shopping today with Madhavi. Bought some sleeping pills and some groceries. Sleeping has been rough. I've been having to take naps almost everyday and I'm not feeling too well about it. I doubt I will have time to take naps once school starts.
Heres Madhavi and myself.

My Room! and Other Super-Exciting Stuff

Here you have it folks. The cell in which I reside within my globalized compound.


I find myself eating and exercising hardcore as of late. Having a kitchen is a blessing and a curse. Having a "fitness center" within a 20 second walk from my room is wonderful even if it is a bit small. They have this wicked full body machine where I can burn 200 calories in 20 minutes. Good stuff.

Last night I went to this lounge in an area called Toorak. There was a hip-hop party and myself and about 10 or so others from the compound crashed it. It was a small room on the second floor of this very posh bar. But there was a $10 cover for entering the small room. We hung out downstairs until it got more crowded than I used my Thai haggle skills to get us all in for $5/head. It was relatively fun. Afterwards I walked back to the compound with one friend while everyone else took a taxi. The walk was about 10km. Took a while, but interesting enough.

Class Timetable - New Pictures

I am pleased to say that I got my timetable set up and it allows me a nice amount of freedom in my week. I have 4 classes, Arabic, Chinese, Conversational Indonesian and Discovering Music (essentially piano or guitar lessons and music theory). I have class from 11am - 5pm on Monday (Lectures for Indonesian and Arabic, followed by the 3 hour music class) with 10 minutes between each class to get to the next one. On Tuesday I have a Chinese lecture at 9am followed by tutorials in Chinese, Indonesian and Arabic. This day might cause some overload on my brain. Again 6 hours no break time. On Wed I have Arabic and Indonesian again, but this time I have an hour for lunch before Chinese class. Thursday and Friday I don't have any classes. I will probably get a job for those days, but that won't be for a couple weeks I imagine. I can't apply for a working visa until the 28th, when classes start.

Last night I went into the city with a few girls and we checked out a couple places. We went to one place that was pretty cool called Mai Tai that was suggested to me by Kumiko. The place was sickeningly expensive as far as food goes, but beer was pretty standard (standard is still too friggin expensive). After coming back I hung outside with a couple people talking about interesting things. We managed to get bunch of nice shots which I will put up over the next few days. Here is one to get you started. We were laughing pretty hard over something that isn't terribly hard to explain, but I think you'd need to have been there to properly appreciate it.


Madhavi is from Singapore while Fybian is from Zimbabwe. I am of course am from Thailand. Yesterday upon hearing that I am from there, a girl (guess where she's from..) asked me if I could speak Thailandese.

Popup pics - New Friends - Enrollment - Japanese Club

Sorry its been a while folks. The seas have been a bit rough.

Pop was quite pleased with the flowers. I wrote her a relatively long email in Thai and she answered that fairly quickly and sent me a rather stunning picture of herself. She is amazing. I may post it later, but I'm not sure if I should. Its nothing obscene or anything, but I feel that this isn't one for me to share like this. Her birthday is quite soon and I sent her a stuffed kangaroo.

I've become quite friendly with a number of people here while the bulk of the people from the international compound were on the orientation trip. I have no regrets about skipping the trip. I studied a lot, was very productive and made friends. Thats all I needed.

I still feel a bit alienated here with some people here. Especially with the Americans. I have my ideas about what they think of me, but I suppose it isn't terribly important. After all, I don't think that way anymore. Or at least thats what I'm trying to maintain. I'm not unhappy, but I feel as if I am on the ledge of some major disappointment that I just won't allow. I can't really explain it. I am almost out of Zoloft, and I have just been taking it as I felt it was necessary. I imagine that is part of the problem, but I also realize that for the first time in my life I am at least partially aware/in control of my emotions. Even though that has diminished in the past week or so, I still feel like I have the power. I may need more meds to maintain it and I am aware of the possibility of problems when I run out.

I enrolled today. I selected Chinese, Arabic, Conversational Indonesian and Discovering Music. I may drop Indonesian if the work load seems to heavy. Keep in mind I am putting a lot of time into Thai and Japanese on the side as well as a few mintues a day with German and a few other languages. I got my student id card made. I dig the picture. If I come across a scanner in the near future I'll share its wonders here.

I've been exercising regularly and I think I am looking pretty fit. I found a great Asian market that isn't so far by bus in town also. Its cheap and I stocked up on lots of the stuff I usually eat in Thailand. Food is good!

Michi, (friend introduced to me by Yumiko and Kumiko [whom I met in Thailand]) invited me to this Japanese jam/club/class/think? tonight. It was great. It consisted of a bunch of Japanese and a handful of white folk all fumbling around with Japanese and English. I met a very nice and rather cute Japanese girl named Ayumi and I expect to return to this club every Thursday from now on!

I have so much more to say, but I am tired. I fear that as classes start and my control over my schedule diminishes, I won't write as much as I have been. It is my hopes that I can force myself to write in each of the languages I'm studying a few times a week on this site. Along with that I will try to offer up some interesting pieces of info in my life here.

I wish I had a digital camera so I could offer you a more visual rendering of my routine.

Into the City for St Kilda's Festival

So I went to the city. It wasn't that exciting. There was a festival going on near the bay. That also wasn't very exciting. The tram here is too friggin expensive. The city seems cool, but I haven't explored it much yet. I'll see more this week. Most people in the compound are going on some happy orientation trip that I opted out of. They will all be gone for 3 days. It will be quiet here, but I should be fine. I ordered some groceries online that will arrive tomorrow night. I forgot to buy seasonings last time and I am almost out of beer.

I don't feel as comfortable here. I am older than most of the people here and I am friendly with everyone, but I've only buddied up with a couple of them. I will most likely become closer because it is just too expensive for me to go out much here. I'll make the best of it, but we'll see what happens.

Oh yes, Happy Valentine's Day, faithful readers. I'll let you know what happens/ed with the flowers I sent.

Here is today's amusing pic. While I may look quite sad, that wasn't exactly the case that evening....

V-Day Mushy Crap - Flatmate - Mountain of Tofu - Beer

Well I went and sent Pop some flowers for V-Day. Here's the message in case you were wondering - ป๊อป มอบแด่คุณโดยเฉพาะ ในวันวาเลนไทน์ ขอบคุณที่ทำให้โลกใบนี้มีชีวิตชีวา คิดถึง เบรท - There, now don't you feel better knowing? Just in case you forgot which one she is, heres a picture!

My shirt is pretty badass 'eh?  

My first flatmate arrived yesterday. Rather than a hot Japanese and/or Thai girl, it appears my request to stay with people from other countries has gone unanswered. Cody is from San Diego. He is 19 and seems nice enough. He took some pics of my room for me and I will post those soon, so you can bask in my newfound luxury or something.

Bill, one of the caretakers, took us to a mall last night to go shopping. I spent 113 $AU. I got every kind of tofu they had, veggie burgers, vegetables, hangers, cooking oil, fruit, dishwashing soap, mouthwash (10 friggin bucks!), and more fun stuff. Oh yea, and I got a 30 pack of Ice Beer. Cheapest stuff I could find. 30 bucks for a 30 pack. I will need to take it easy on the beer here I think.

Orientation is today at 1. Planning to go into the city in the evening. I'm going to go check out/make use of the "fitness center" in a few moments.

I've mentioned to a few people about how much I pay for my clothes. Perhaps I can make some contacts to export a few things when I return to Thailand? We shall see.

It really is nice to have broadband in my room.

Down Undaz!

Upon stepping outside the airport in Melbourne this morning, I was attacked by a pack of rapid kangaroos. Well, not actually, but it would have been cooler than what did happen. Customs was a breeze. I actually checked on my card that I had meds with me and nobody asked about it. I should have actually brought a few boxes. A German girl was flying in shortly after me so Nassir, the guy who picked us up, and Tina (German girl)drove us to the Int house. Tina was pretty cool so after we dropped our stuff off, we hung out most of the day. Went to a Thai restuarant just past the uni. It was ok, but pretty expensive. 4 of the tinest spring rolls I've ever seen for $6AU. Crazy. The place I live isn't exactly close to anything. There are 3 Christian girl schools within 2 blocks of here. Luckily, one of them is a college. The place is ok. The gym, pool and "spa" weren't exactly what I thought they would be. The gym is enough for me, but being that there are rooms for 83 people on this compound, it may be difficult to work out. The pool is too small for laps, and the "spa" is a jacuzzi in a tiny room where the rain leaks in. Ahh well, no worries. There is a lounge with a very big-screen tv and a pool table. I've been feeling quite good about everything. The plane ride was pretty crappy, but I didn't get upset, or angry or anxious or anything.

A nice Vietnamese girl named Hang came to set up my computer and I made her promise to teach me some Vietnamese. She is the only Asian girl I have met here so far. There are too many Westerners in this place. German 1, Danish 1, Swedes 2, Americans 6 that I have met so far. I am the first in my apartment to arrive. No clue who my flatmates are, but I have a strong feeling it won't be the hot Japanese and Thai girls I had been hoping for.

I am pleased with my internet connection, but the computer is pretty rough. My email account can hold more than my hard drive can. As for RAM, don't even ask. Guess I'll hafta take it easy on the porn and games after all. I suppose its for the best.

I have 50 invites now for Gmail. Anybody want in?

Here I am with a few people I used to work with while we were at Fridays bar that we frequented.

Team Fridays 

Chillin in Changi

I'm at the airport in Singapore at the moment. It sure is nice to have free internet, but it does kind of suck that you have to stand and the browsers closes after 15 minutes. I watched a terrible movie in the free theater before studying Japanese and playing games for a couple hours. They didn't have a vegetarian meal ready for me on the plane. I'm going to suspect that they won't for the main flight either. I'm a bit bummed about that. This probably also means that I will need to make sure the travel agent put my flyer miles on as well.

Last night I went out to Riverside to say goodbye to a bunch of friends. It was quite fun. The girl who stayed over with a change of clothes for work having "locked herself out" called me 23 times while I slept last night as well as sending me 15 messages. Luckily I had turned the ringer off. Crazy shit!

On a brighter note, I spent the day with Pop yesterday and it was nice. I bought her some phone cards so she can call me and I gave her some free passes to a new spa that Wat gave me.

I gotta start moving towards my gate. Might write more before I fly again if there is time.

The Path to Enlightenment

I've been reading this book that Randy gave me the other day. The Power of Now suggests that the reason things like anger, anxiety and fear control our lives is due to our lack of control of our mind. It offers that our mind is a tool of our 'being', but is not actually the 'being' itself. What?!? Ok, so it may sound a bit baffling, but it becomes clear if you try it out. I always worry too much about everything, because I go through countless paths I may find myself on having made even the simplest decision. But after reading about half of this book last night while I couldn't sleep, I laid in bed and ran over the things that have been bothering me this week; unreliable friends, unknown status with Pop (target of my current infatuation) and less importantly stocking up on stuff/packing for Australia. I couldn't sleep and I was woken up a number of times by mosquito bites that somehow managed to come out of nowhere and eat me alive last night. During this rather horrendous evening I came to the conclusion that the book had some very interesting points. I cleared my mind of all my worries and then analyzed them one by one. It became quite obvious that I am not the cause of these particular woes of my life and there is little I can do to control them. I went to sleep feeling good. I had some really pleasant dreams and I woke up feeling refreshed for the first time in a while.

The day got even better when Pop called me to go to the waterfall just outside of town. Jenny, Gai, Gai's BF, Pop and myself went up the mountain, hung out at the waterfall, then went to the zoo. We had a nice time, but it was quite hot today.


Update: I forgot to mention that Sean was with on this trip (and probably took this picture!) and I didn't acknowledge him. Sorry.
Today's picture is of myself, John B and Barbara. On my 25th birthday, I went to Atlantic City with Sharon, John B, and Cory to gamble away all my savings as I occasionally like to do. I had a problem with one of the dealers and we complained to the management and they gave us some free stuff, but it wasn't sufficient. Afterwards, we stopped at a bar so I could bitch about it and get drunk a bit before we went to complain some more. A lady was sitting by herself heard us talking and gave us some advice on how to deal with casino issues such as this. She drank with us and when she found out it was my birthday she went a bit crazy. She produced a seemingly endless stream of hundred-dollar bills to support our rather expensive corona-fest. After we were all tanked, she went up to the staff and got us a discounted room for the night before she took us gambling. She was completely bamboozeled and ended up spending thousands of dollars on us both in drinks, room and gambling cash. It was surely the best birthday I've ever had, on a day I dreaded reaching for my entire life. Sometimes its nice to be wrong.

New Traffic Counter!

I added a site meter today. Perhaps I did this so I could know the exact number of the surely endless flow of visitors to my blog. Of course its much more likely that I did this so I can depress myself over the lack of interest in my always facscinating thoughts and adventures. We shall see. Being that free web servers suck, I will probably need to pay for a decent one to store these pictures on. I'm still shopping for one, but hopefully soon the pictures will all load correctly all of the time. In the meantime I am going to get some decent photo-editing software and fix up some of the current photos so they don't take so long to load.

The past few days I've picked up an extremly unpleasant sinus drip from second-hand smoke. Luckily it didn't last so long, but it has happened a few times. This worries me. The last time I had this problem was the painful experience that allowed (forced?) me to quit smoking.

I will probably have some sort of goodbye-party/go out-night, but I'm not sure whats in store yet. I am so exhausted. I haven't gotten any real sleep in so long.

This shot brings back some memories. I was in Paris for a few days with a couple friends. We got onto the subway to head off somewhere and this guy steps onboard with a bass. Following him was a guy holding a violin. My first thought was that they were just going to or coming from a concert, but my second thought was why they didn't pack up their instruments. Next, a guy with an accordian popped through the door. And the coolest part was when this old portly guy with a guitar jumps through just as the doors are closing. He shouts something and they all start jamming. It was great. My friends tried to get me to bust out my harmonica and play along, but being that I kind of suck with the harmonica, I opted out. They did catch a shot of me in awe however. Of course, my 'in awe' expression is oddly similar with almost all my other expressions, but believe me, I was in awe!

Nothing Worth Reading Here

Sorry, I haven't had much time lately. I'm trying to divide up my time so I can go hang out with my closer friends once or twice before I go, but I know its not going to work out as planned. I'll do what I can anyways.

I'm starting to look forward to a few things in Australia. It will be really nice to have a kitchen and broadband internet in my apartment. Lets just hope the roommates are cool.

Tonight I'm meeting up with my old Japanese teacher Yoko for a bit of drinking. She's heading back to Japan in March and I probably won't see her again. At least not for a long time.

死をもてあそぶ　－ To flirt with death